Ballot-strip-locking device.



ITO. 873,824.

T'ATENTIID DBO. I?, 1907. C. c. ABBOTT. r BALLOT STRIP LOCKING DEVICE.

APPLIOATION FILED APB.27,1907.

nul-v IIIIIIIII 'CHARLES Cl'ABBOTT, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIG-NOR TO TRIUMPH VOTING MACHINE- COMPANY, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

BALLOT-STRIP-IIOCKING DEVICE.

Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Application sled April 27. 1907. serial No. 370.607.

To all whom 'it may concern: a

y Be it known that I, CHARLES C. ABBOTT, a citizen of the United States, residing'at Pittsiield, county of Berkshire, State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Ballot- Strip-Locking Device, of which the following is a specication. l

This invention has for itspbject to provide simple,A inexpensive and ,certain means for simultaneously 'flocking af series of ballot strips in a voting machine. T einvention is equally applicable to either thel'll''rizontal or vertical type of machines. In the present instance I have illustratedzthei invention as applied to a horizontal machine, that is to a machine in which the ballot stri s containing the party nominations are p aced horizontally inthe machine.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, Figure 1 is an elevation of a portion of the front of a voting machine illustrating the application of my novel ballot strip locking device thereto Fig. 2 a horizontal section on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1, looking down; and Fi 3 is a vertical -section on. the line 3-3 in 1ig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

10 denotes the front plate of the frame of a voting machine, 11 a vertical backing strip, 12 a vertical front strip which in the present 'instance is shown as doubled upon itself transversely, 13 longitudinal. braces shown as formed from sheet metal, 14 ballot strip holders, 15 ballot strips and 16 the ballot stri locking bar. Front strip 12 is separated fiom. the front plate of theframe by 'means of interposed blocks or plates 17, leaving o enings 32 to receivethe ballot strip,

and oth the front strip and the backing strip are retained in place by rivets -18 passing through the strips, the front plate and Vthe blocks. l The ballot strip holders are formed from strips of sheet metal with the edges curved over and turned inward toward each other so as to lie parallel with the back of the strip and inclose the edges of a ballot strip.. For convenience in ex lanation, I have indicated the backs of the JIballot strip holders by 19 and the turned over edges by 20. These ballot strip holders lie in alinement with the openings 32/betweenblocks 17 andare shown as retained 1n place by the shafts 21 of the voting members, semi-circular recesses 22 being formed in the turned over edges of the ballot strip holders toreceive said shafts, as clearly shown. The longitudinal braces are provided with side plates 23, all of which except the lower one are shown as backwardly Patented nee. '17, leo?.A

plate and register 'with slots 34 in the inner plate of front strip 12. The rojections orA teeth 27 are provided with inc ines 35 which engage the upper end walls of slots .26 in backing plate 11, said walls forming bearing surfaces 36. The forward edges of projections 27 are preferably sharpened, as at 28,

.to adapt. them to be forcedlnto or through,

and thus to securely lock, the ballot strips.

-The back edge of the ballot strip locking.y

bar is provided with a series of rojections or teeth 2:3 which lie in slots 25 in t e side plates ef the longitudinal braces and are provided 1 with inclines 30 which are adapted to engage bearing portions of the contiguous'longitu- `dinal braces, as at 31. In the case of all except the lower longitudinalbrace, the side plates 23 extend downward from the main portions of the, braces and the inclinesf30 upon the ballot strip locking bar en age' vbearing portions 31 at the an les forme by the intersection of the side p ates with thev main portions of the braces. The lower longitudinal brace is shown asinverted and the side plate thereof extends upward lying on the inner side of the side plate of the next l'longitudinal brace above it.

The lower incline upon the ballot strip locking bar engages a bearing Vportion 31 at the upper end of the side late of the lowerv y longitudinal brace instea of engaging the angle as in the case of the longitudinal braces above it. In'practice, the contiguous side plates of the longitudinal braces are lirmlyv riveted together so that the structure as a whole is firm and rigid but relatively. light in Wei ht.'

T e operation will be readily understood from the drawing. When the ballot strlp locking bar is moved upward, th! inclines 35 upon backing plate 11, which moves the bar i on projections 27 engage bearing surfaces 36 backward and disenga es the projections or teeth 27 from the bal ot strips if any have been inserted. The ballot strips may then be removed or ballot stri s maybe inserted into the ballot stripl hoxllders through the openin s 32lbetween the front strip and the front p ate'. When the ballot strips are all in place, the ballot strip locking bar is drawn downward with sufficient force to cause said bar to be forced'forwardthrough the engagement ofthe inclines 30 thereon with the longitudinal braces at 31 and the front rojections or teeth 27 to be forced into or t ough the ballot strips, thereby locking them securely in place, the ballot strips being held by' projections or teeth 27'which either cture the ballot strips or force therninto s ots 34 in the inner late of the front strip. I have shown' the ow'er end of the ballot strip locking bar as provided with a suitable hand ieeev 33 for -convenience in mani ulation.

nractice, the lower end of the ba lotstrip loching bar lies within the base of thermachine, which is not shown in the drawing 'and is wholly concealed from view and dut of r'each until the machine is opened in the re ular manner.

aving' thus described-'my invention I' claim:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with means for holding a ballot strip, of a ballot strip locking bar having a projection and means for forcing said projection into engagement with vthe back of a ballot strip, substantially as described, for the purpose specified. l 2. In a device of the character described,

the combination with means for holding bal:

the ballot strips when it is drawn. downward.

vco

4. In a device of the character described,

. the combination with ballot stri p holders consisting'of strips of sheet metal with the edges curved over and turned toward each other, and ballot stri s lying therein, of a ballot strip locking ar having projections and means'for forcing said projectlonsinto engagement with the ballot strips.

5. In a device of the character described,

.the combination with a front plate and a backing plate havingl slots therethrough, a frontistrip having slots and blocks between 6. In a device of the character described,- I

thecombination with a front plate and a backing plate having slots therethrough, a front strip having slots and blocks between the front .plateand front strip leavin open ings between sald plate and strip, o ballot stri holders in alinement with sald o enings, bal ot strips in said openings and balllot strip holders, .a ballot strlp locking bar-having 4front projections lying in said slots and provided with inclines and rear projections also provided with inclines and longitudinal braces engaged by the inclines whereby the ballot str1 lockin bar is force/d forward and the bal ot strip 1s forced by the projections into the slots in the front stri 7. In adevice of the c aracter described,

the combination with a front plate and a .backinvP plate having slots and a iront strip doubled upon itself and having slots in the rear plate thereof, of a ballot strip locking bar having front projections passing through the slots in the frontplate and backing plate and registering with the slots in the front strip and having inclines engagin the walls of the slots in the backing str1 and rear projections also having inclines an bearing portlonsengraged by said inclines, the engagement of the ont inclines with thebacking strip acting to move the ballot stri locking bar backward when it is raised an the engagement of the rear inclines with the bearing portions acting to force said bar forward when it is drawn downward, substantially as described, for thepurpose specified.

8. In a device of the character described, the combination with means for retaining a ballot strip and a front strip having a slot, of a ballot striplocking bar having on itsfront edge a projection in alinement with said slot and on its backedge an incline and a longitudinal brace engaged by the incline to force the ballot strip locking bar forward to engage a ballot strip between the front projection and the front strip.

9. The ballot strip locking bar 16 having sharpened projections on its front ed e and projections on its back edge, both of sald projections being provided with inclines, subitai tially as described, for the purpose speci- In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

'in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES e. ABBOTT. 'Witnessesz l W, M. DELAVAN, JAMES W. SYNAN. 

